The summit will focus on tightening EU borders and aiding neighbours of Syria, from where many migrants come.

EU leaders have struggled to find a co-ordinated response to the crisis.

British Prime Minster David Cameron and French President Francois Hollande held talks on the eve of the meeting, saying that finding a solution to the Syrian conflict would be key to resolving the migrant crisis.

They also agreed more should be done to return migrants who do not have a genuine claim for asylum, a Downing Street spokesman said.

The UK has opted against taking part in the relocation scheme and has its own plan to resettle migrants directly from Syrian refugee camps.

Ahead of the summit on Wednesday, the European Commission set out proposals for managing the refugee crisis. They include:

- Rolling out support teams to migrant hotspots- Restoring free movement in the Schengen zone, where a number of members have recently introduced border controls- The issuing of warnings to 19 member states for failing to follow asylum procedures- A proposal of an additional €1.7bn ($1.9bn) in funds to tackle the crisis - €1bn would go to help Turkey, the rest to aid agencies and asylum, police and border organisations

The scale of the problem was highlighted again on Wednesday when Croatia revealed that 44,000 migrants - including 8,750 on Tuesday - had arrived there since Hungary completed a fence along its border with Serbia last week.